Julie into Dreams
by kim the hedgehog
Summary: While flying through the skies of Nightopia, NiGHTS meets a young human girl. As he travels with her, they realize that she has some very interesting powers and NiGHTS begins to wonder what other secrets about her are harbored in the dream world.
1. Julie's Ordinary Day

**Hi. Okay this is my first NiGHTS fic. The first chapter is going to be pretty boring because it's mostly just introducing chracters but it gets more interesting in the next one. This story might have a few spoilers for NiGHTS: Journey of Dreams but none of them are this or the next chapter. And I'm going to ask now and get it out of the way. Please review but please no flames. Critism is okay. Here's the disclaimer. On with the story!**

**Disclaimer-I do not own NiGHTS, Reala, or Nightopia and Nightmare. They belong to Sega. I do own Julie, Sara, their school and town, Julie's mom, and Cupcake.**

Darkness. But she had feeling this time. She could feel something coming to her. It was going to happen. She knew it. So close... A bright light...She reached out and-! BRIIIIIIIIING

"YAH!" Julie nearly jumped a foot in the air. Once she had regained her composure, she groaned and slammed a hand onto her alarm clock. Julie Nown was a tall thin 12 year old girl with waist length brown hair and soft green eyes. She was a tomboy most of the time but she was also pretty laidback and friendly. She sighed as she slowly got out of bed and got ready for school. Her outfit consisted of camo print jeans, white tennis shoes, a blue tee-shirt, and a green sruchncy holding her brunette hair in a ponytail. Normally, she would have rushed out the door, being late again. But today was different. The one thing that made Julie different in her eyes was that she had never had a dream. Ever. Just black emptiness when she sleapt. This time had almost been different. She could have sworn that she was going to have one this time.

"Julia Olivia Nown! You are late again!" A voice called from down the stairs.

"Yeah. Okay, mom." She called half heartedly. She flung her backpack which was dark purple with yellow dots, made to look like the night sky, over her shoulder and set off down the hall of the second floor of her house. She strode down the stairs still a little dazed from her thoughts and nearly tripped over a step. When she got to the kitchen, a brown streak shot around her legs.

"Hi Cupcake." She said quietly to her chocolate brown cat who had a small white tuff of fur on her chest as she scatched her ears. Cupcake mewed happily in response.

"Julie! Don't forget your lunch, dear." Julie's mom said with her back turned to her daughter.

"Yeah, okay." The brunette mumbled as she grabbed a brown bag with her name written on it off the counter. She got as far as the doorway and stopped. She heard something drop and hit the floor. Julie turned back to her mom but she hadn't dropped anything. Upon hearing her mom call out the time again, she shrugged it off and quickly dashed out the door in the direction of the school, instantly seeing the small shops and houses of the town of Pureheart. Down on the floor in the basement of the house she was quickly leaving behind was a small black box with a white star and a yellow moon on it.

* * *

Julie got to school just as the bell rang. As she put her things in her locker another girl surrounded by a crowd of other kids walked up. She had short blonde hair, a designer red and silver shirt, and a black skirt with matching black boots.

"Well, hello Julie!" She said in a singsong voice. Julie glanced up.

"...Hi Sara." She muttered. Sara Perkins was the one reason Julie didn't have any friends. If you were marked uncool at Light Heart Junior High by Sara you were doomed to live a life of solitude until High School. This was exactly what she had done to Julie.

_'Gee, I wish my dad was rich. Then I could be a rich little brat too.' _Said brunette thought bitterly.

"Isn't it about time you came to your senses and either transfer schools or start acting normal?" The blonde girl asked with a sneer.

"I like this school and if parading around in 'designer' clothes and worring about dates 24-7 is 'normal' then I prefer to be werid." Julie answered, slamming her locker and turning her back on Sara.

"Uh! Who do you think you are?!" The 'Queen' of the school screeched.

"I think I'm who I believe I can be." The brunette snapped before quickly walking off to her class, leaving Sara looking stunned. _'But...Who exactly do I believe I am?' _

* * *

Julie sat in the back of her last class of the day, Science. The day had gone smoothly but, although she was normally a good student, she just couldn't keep he mind on her work. She instead doodled in her note book. She stopped and looked at what she had drawn. It looked like some kind of medival circus costume. _'Um...what do they call those people? ...Oh, yeah! Jesters!' _

"Miss Nown!" The teacher, Miss Rodger, shouted. Julie's head snapped up and she watched sadly as the plump woman in front of her grabbed her note book. "Will you please get your mind in class and out of these childish daydreams!" And with that she ripped the page with the jester costume out of Julie's note book, crumpled it up, and threw it in the garbage before throwing her note book back to her. Julie looked down sadly at the now blank page as several of the popular kids that were Sara's cronies laughed.

_'But...it's the only place I can dream...'_

* * *

An hour later, Julie walked slowly home sighing quietly. She was naturally sad from Sara and Miss Rodger but she had more important things to think about. Why had she been thinking about dreams so much lately? And why did she just randomly draw a jester outfit? It didn't make any sense. The brunette sighed again as she walked up the steps and into her house. She found a small note on the kitchen table saying that her mom had gone out and would be back soon. Julie dropped her backpack on a chair and went up stairs to her room. She plopped down on her bed and stared upside down at the window. A few birds flew past through the tree outside her window.

_'I wonder...what it's like to fly...'_

* * *

NiGHTS soared through the air of Nightopia. He seemed to be enjoying himself a lot. He dove down through a valley and over a river, letting his hand skim the water's surface. He shot forward, spinning around in a corkscrew and going straight into a forest. The jester nightmaren touched a huge blue flower as he flew by and it opened, glowing brightly. NiGHTS shot above the trees and tumbled through the now open air in acrobatic flips and cartwheels before shooting back down through the branches. As he exited the forest, he came to a beach and slowed his flight down, deceiding to take a quick look around. He sailed across the sand and circled the beach once. It was then that NiGHTS saw something in the sand. He flew down and levitated a few inches off the ground picking the item out of the sand and dusting it off. It was a small crumpled up piece of paper. NiGHTS gave it a curious look as he unfolded the paper to reveal a picture.

"A jesture costume?" He asked in confusion. He was even more confused when he heard a small female voice speak in his mind but it was too quiet to hear. He was used to mind reading from his ability to dualize with dreamers but it was just him at the moment. No Dreamer shared his body. How was this possible? He tried to think but instantly stopped and tried to concentrate when he heard the voice get louder and clearer.

_'I wonder...what it's like to fly...'_ At this, NiGHTS smiled and levitated a little higher.

_'So she, who ever she is, wants to know what it's like to fly, huh? Hmm...I wonder if this Dreamer will be here soon? I think I'd like to meet her.' _

* * *

Julie sighed quietly as she wrote out the super long essay about the 'form of simbolism', or something like that, in the book they were reading that her reading teacher had assigned her. It was after dinner but there was no one to really come in and 'bug' her because her mom was the only one she lived with. Her father had died when she was very young and she was an only child. It bugged her sometimes, to be almost alone in this big house. She didn't have to turn to realize the door had opened but she faced her mom anyway.

"Yeah, mom?" She asked the tall, short brown-haired woman who was standing in the doorway.

"Julie, hun, would you like some desert?" Julie didn't think her mom understood her at times and yet sometimes she knew exactly what to do. Julie was in real need of a break. The brunette beamed and nodded.

"Yeah. Thanks mom!" Mrs. Nown brightened. It was rare when she saw her daughter smile. She always seemed gloomy, even in her sleep.

"Blueberry pie okay?"

"Absolutely!" Julie saw her mom's face light up when she smiled. She didn't mind. She knew her mom thought she was 'gloomy', although she never truely mentioned it, she hinted enough to make it known. Julie didn't think of herself as gloomy but as thoughtful and shy. A few minutes later, her mom came in with a a slice of pie and a fork.

"Here dear." Mrs. Nown said putting the pie down on Julie's writing table next to her essay. "What happened to your 'no homework on Friday' rule?" Julie blinked in surprise. It was Friday?

"I...kinda forgot." Julie said, blushing in mild embarresment.

"Oh, Julie..." Her mom sighed, sitting in the chair next to her daughter.

"Sorry..." The brunette preteen chuckled nervously. Mrs. Nown sighed again but smiled and looked around Julie's room. It was painted a soft, calm blue but her bed and computer were dark blue with small yellow dots, made to look like the night sky. Her daughter took a bite of her pie and continued to write the essay. "I'm almost done anyway so I guess it doesn't matter." Julie sighed. Her mom smiled and nodded but remained in her daughter's room. After about ten minutes, Mrs. Nown got up and picked up the now empty pie plate and fork.

"Goodnight Honey." She said before kissing her daughter's forehead and ruffling her messy hair.

"Night mom." Julie said quietly. She was almost done with her essay.

"Don't stay up too late, Julie. Oh, and I'm going into work early tomarrow so I most likely won't be here when you get up."

"Mm-hm." She continued to scribble out her essay while her mom backed out of the door, closing it in the process. She was slightly worried about her daughter and the fact she never had any friends over. She rarely smiled and was extremely shy and quiet.

"Cheer up soon, Julie." She said quietly before walking down the stairs.

In her room, said brunette was starting to write the last paragraph of her essay but, for some reason she was getting more and more tired with each word she wrote. Her hand moved slower and slower and she heard a male voice say something unclearly in her mind. She stopped writing to concentrate on the voice with what little focus she had.

_'So she, who ever she is, wants to know what it's like to fly, huh? Hmm...I wonder if this Dreamer will be here soon? I think I'd like to meet her.'_ The second after Julie heard this, her head gently hit her desk and she was asleep.

**Poor Julie. She's lonely. And yeah, they heard each others thoughts. You'll find out more about that later. Anyway, what do you think? Is it good is it bad? Reveiw please!**


	2. Julie the Jester

**Hi again. Here's chapter two. I am extreamly annoyed with how long I took to upload (stupid school and dentist!) but don't worry. The next will come sooner as I'm almost done with it now. Anyway I bet you thought Julie's in Nightopia now huh? Well, not yet. She gets there in a bit of a...different...way. Now for review replies! Why? Because I'm so happy with the amount of reviews I got. -sniff- (I'm a sap. I know.) Thank you! **

**lovecanchangelife-Gah! -flails and falls over. peeks over desk- Thank you malak. I take it that you like it.**

**joakkar-Thank you! **

**Crystal Cerberus-Thanks! Um...now how do I explain this?...There isn't a pairing but there may be a few things that could be considered hints even though that's not what they're meant to be. Erm, does that make sense?**

**Angel6530-Don't worry. I intend to. Thanks for reviewing!**

**Jazzy Kat-Thank you! **

**Disclaimer-I don't own NiGHTS, or anything from his world. They all belong to Sega. I do own Julie, Julie's mom, Cupcake, and...oh you get the idea.**

The sun shown through Julie's still open window, hitting her eyes and waking her up. She yawned widely and glanced down at her essay, moaning when she saw it wasn't finished. She slammed her head angrily on her writing desk but when she was finished she picked up her pencil and wrote the last sentence. Julie then got up and opened her closet door, looking for her pj's. It was still Saturday morning after all! She picked out a pair of light blue pants and a light blue tee-shirt, both decorated with white clouds. After putting them on, she half-walked half-stumbled down the stairs to the kitchen.

"Mew!" Cupcake looked up at Julie with her emerald green eyes.

"Morning yawn Cupcake." She mumbled, scratching the cat's ears, making her purr. Julie dug a bag of cat kibble and a box of cereal out of the cabinet, placing the later on the counter. She opened the bag of cat kibble and poured some into Cupcake's bowl before putting it away. The cat walked over to her feeding bowl and started to munch happily on her breakfast. Julie got out a bowl, a spoon, and a carton of milk and made a bowl of cereal. She put the milk back, walked out to the living room, closely followed by Cupcake who had finished her kibble, and sat on the couch to watch Saturday moring cartoons. Cupcake jumped onto the couch next to Julie, who was chewing thoughtfully on her cereal.

_'Who was that guy who spoke in my thoughts right before I fell asleep? I must have just been imagening it...But...It seemed so real...'_

"Mew?" Cupcake drove Julie out of her thoughts with a concerned meow. Julie smiled and petted her cat.

"It's alright. I'm just thinking." The brunette sighed. After an hour of munching on cereal, watching cartoons, and petting Cupcake, Julie went back to the kitchen and depostited her dirty bowl and spoon in the sink. As Julie passed by the closed basement door, she heard something rattle. She stopped and stepped back, looking at the door. Cupcake's fur bristled and she growled at the door. Julie turned and stared at her cat. Cupcake NEVER growled. Julie had thought that meowing and purring were the only sounds she was capable of making. The brunette quickly grabbed the first thing she found, a spatula, from the kitchen drawer to 'defend herself' and threw open the door. There was nothing down there that looked out of the ordinary. She walked down the steps, clutching her spatula to her chest and glancing around worriedly. Again, nothing was wrong. Julie turned around in a circle and finally noticed a small box laying on its side next to a rickedy old table. She walked over to the table and bent down to pick the box up. It was about the size of a shoe box and was black with spiraled purple designs but the thing that drew Julie's attention was the design of a bright yellow cresent moon and the white star that sat on the lower part of the cresent in the middle of the box. Julie put down her spatula and gently shook it. The contents of the box rattled a little. Julie sighed with relief.

"This must have just rattled when it fell off the table." She said to herself as she shook it again and listened to the rattle of the box. "I wonder what's in here." Julie kneeled down and set the box on the floor before removing it's cover. She was mildly surprised by how little was in the box. It only contained a cresent moon shaped amulet on a golden chain and a playing card. Julie picked the amulet up and gazed in awe at how shiny it was for being down here for who knows how long. She hooked it around her neck and looked in the dusty mirror across the room. It looked almost like it was made for her and the brunette couldn't help but smile.

"Mom probally won't mind if I wear this." Julie bent down and picked up the playing card. It had the exact same style of the box on one side, down to the yellow cresent moon and white star, but on the other was something totally different. It had a black jester-like shape in the middle, looking like a shadow. The background was split into five colors, yellow, white, blue, green, and red. Julie looked down at the bottom of the box. There was nothing else in it but a fine coating of dust...and yet...

"There's something written here!" The preteen realized as she tried to clear the dusk from the bottom. The words suddenly lit up in gold, making Julie yelp and fall back in surprise and fear. When nothing else happened, she caustiously approached the box and gazed at the words.

_Amulet chant- Shining Moon! Lend me your power! _

Julie stared at it, utterly confused. Then, she realized it was talking about the amulet that had been in the box, the amulet that was currently hanging around her neck. Her hands shook as she took the chain off her neck and held the cresent moon in the palm of her hand. She was scared but, more than that, she was curious about what it would do. In the end, her curiousity won out.

"Shining Moon! L-lend me your power!" Julie screamed as the moon nearly exploded in a flash of light. It grew larger as a staff grew from it. Julie's clothes seemed to flicker and change as well. Then, it was all over, almost as suddenly as it had started. Julie fell weakly to her knees, starting at the transformed necklace. It was now a long blue and yellow wand-like staff with a cresent moon on the tip. She slowly started to reach for it but a cloud of light blue smoke appeared in front of her with a small 'pop', sending her reeling backward with yet another scream. She stared as the smoke cleared and revealed a hat. It was mostly green with a kind of cloth belt around the part closest to someone's head that had an orange trim and yellow buttons. It had two long rounded cloth 'horns' hanging down that looked similar to floppy rabbit ears. Julie realized with a jolt that it was a jester hat. Her curiousity out weighed her shock, however, and she reached for the hat. When she put it on, she found out it was actually pretty comfortable. As her shock went away, Julie also found that she didn't feel the light material of her pjama bottoms on her legs. She turned to the dusty old mirror again and received another minor shock. Her pj's were gone and in their place was a colorful and strange outfit. She now wore a green tee-shirt with an orange vest over it. The vest had a yellow trim and yellow buttons. The reason she didn't feel the material on her legs was that she was now wearing green shorts with orange and yellow designs going down the sides. The last parts of the outfit were a pair of green socks, green gloves with orange trim on the wrists, and a pair of green and orange shoes with two yellow buttons on either one that were at least two times bigger than her feet.

_'This is the jester outfit I drew in class yesterday!' _

Julie stared for a second at her new outfit. It was a little strange but it didn't look BAD on her... Julie smiled slightly and danced around in front of the mirror, ending in her facing the mirror with a two fingered salute and a wink. She managed to hold the position for a few seconds before breaking down and giggling. The jester costume was surprisingly easy to move in. The large shoes, which she thought would be hard to move in without falling, actually made her more agile. Julie stopped examining her costume when she saw something flash gold out of the corner of her eye. The brunette turned toward the box to see more words had appeared. She reapproached the box, picking up the blue and yellow wand as she walked. She really didn't have to get that close to read the words shinning in the bottom of the box.

_Use Card. Wand will know what to do. _

_'Shining Moon and Star of Light_

_Take me to the world of NiGHTS_

_NiGHTS into Dreams!' _

All of Julie's fear and cautiousness had left her, leaving her curious and, strange as it was, somewhat happy. She picked the card up off the floor and turned it jester side up.

"Alright, here goes nothing! Shining Moon and Star of Light- Ahhh!" The card shot out of Julie's hand and spun around. She managed to grab it but it was now facing with the Moon and Star side up. "Ooookay..." The female took a deep breath and continued.

"Take me to the world of NiGHTS!" The card spun out of her hand and floated high into the air above her as the wand jerked upward high above her head, dragging her arm with it. Her other hand grabbed the wand as a reflex. The card floated down, jester side up, and when it was about a foot above the ground the wand dragged her arms down and hit the jester on the card with the cresent moon on the tip of the wand. A bright light emitted from the card and it took a second for Julie to remember the last line of the chant.

"NiGHTS into Dreams!" The card disappeared and a huge white portal opened up under her feet. Time seemed to stop for a split second as Julie thought one thing.

_'Ohhh! I KNEW this was a bad idea!" _

Time unfroze and Julie clung to her wand, screaming, as she fell through the portal.

**Okay, first of all, I'm sorry there's no NiGHTS in this chapter. He plays a much bigger role in the next and second of all, please review! Thank you! **


	3. Enter the Fantasy Jester

**Hello again. Sorry about the long wait. I know I said the third chapter was almost finished and it was but my computer died, taking all my files with it. TTTT Another thing was my procrastination to redo it and the need to get my courage back up. Speaking of that, I'd like to say something. I personally don't care if you think Julie's a mary sue. I know what a mary sue is and it's a very hurtful name to call someone's character, especiallyif they worked hard on it. If you just want to flame, don't comment at all. I said in the first chapter that criticism and praise were both welcome but flames are hated. And no, this does not mean I'm going to revise my whole story just beacause one person doesn't like something. I said that criticism was welcome but that does not mean that it is always listened to. Now that that's out of the way, I want to thank all the people who do like it. I'm glad the good outweighs the bad and the next chapter will (I hope)have a far shorter wait. Your reviews are appreciated.**

**Disclaimer-NiGHTS, Gulpo, Girania, Nightopia, and the Nightopians all belong to sega. I only own Julie.**

Julie woke up after being out cold for who knows how long. She waited for some kind of pain or soreness, something to prove what had happened to her, but none came. Had it really happened? 

_'Of course it happened! I daydream a lot but that was too real!' _she thought. The portal had been so bright. Could it be possible that the drop had only been a few feet? Julie groaned and opened her eyes, pushing herself up into a kneeling position. There were her pale legs and those green and orange shorts, with lush green grass underneath them. Her green eyes looked up to see a small, cute, cream-colored face. The creature greeted her with a smile, a wave, and a happy squeal. Julie replied by screaming and leaping backward. 

NiGHTS had been flying through the air of Pure Valley when he heard a scream. This seemed odd. The dream looked normal and there wasn't a Nightmaren in sight. He glanced around, finally spotting a young, frightened looking human female who was surrounded by several very confused looking Nightopians. NIGHTS laughed so hard that he was forced to land. 

Julie was alerted to another's presence behind her by a laugh and the sound of someone stepping into the grass. She couldn't think clearly at the moment, being more than a little rattled by the tiny creatures peering up at her from their places in the grass, and the only thing she could think to do was to grab the blue and yellow moon tipped wand. Julie hopped to her feet and turned to point the staff at whoever it was, desperately trying to put as much space between her and the stranger as was possible. 

NiGHTS' laughter stopped as he looked down at the tip of a yellow glass moon that was now pointed at the red jewel on his chest. Now that he got a good look at this girl, he wasn't sure what she was. She had a human appearance, with bright emerald green eyes and long brown hair, but she wore a green, orange, and yellow jester outfit. Her trembling green gloved hands held the wand out.

Julie stared at the creature that stood in front of her. He was in a jester outfit, similar to her own but in purple, pink, and yellow with long white sleeves and gloves. His purple striped jester hat seemed like it was attached to his head and a puffy orange collar hung around his neck. His nonexistent neck. Julie's eyes flew from his invisible neck to his invisible wrists and back again. The creature noticed this and cocked an eyebrow above an azure eye. 

"May I help you?" Julie screamed and leapt backward, tripping over her own feet and falling on her behind in the grass. NiGHTS chuckled quietly, shaking his head. "You're afraid of Nightopians and you're afraid of me. You would probably have a heart attack if you ever saw a Nightmaren." Julie felt her face grow warm in an angry blush and she leapt up once more, swinging her staff at him. Luckily, NiGHTS was faster and sidestepped her. The brunette turned to him and glared.

"Quit laughing at me!" NiGHTS crossed his arms and gave her a mildly annoyed look.

"I wouldn't be laughing if you weren't so bizarre. What are you?" He asked so suddenly that Julie blinked in surprise.

"I'm a girl! Duh!"

"Well, yeah, but I mean a girl what?"

"A girl human!"

"Really?" NiGHTS asked suspiciously, looking her up and down. "So you're a Dreamer?"

"Err…Sure! Let's go with that!" Julie said, sounding slightly nervous. She suddenly blinked in surprise before suddenly looking angry. "Hey, wait! I shouldn't be answering you! You should be answering me!" NiGHTS sweatdropped.

"You're an odd little girl, aren't you?" Julie took another swing at him with her wand but missed when her foot suddenly sunk into the ground. She looked down at the grass to see it now looked more like blue jello.

"What the…?" By the time Julie realized what was happening, the grass had finished transforming and she fell with a splash into the water. She kicked to the surface to see NiGHTS was clenching his fists and glancing around.

"Why now?" He grumbled to himself. Julie also looked around and watched as the mountains turned tainted and black and the trees died. Julie shivered as she treaded water.

"Wha-what's going on?" 

"This dream is turning into a nightmare." NiGHTS answered as ripples went across the water. Two huge fish suddenly rose from the water. The first NiGHTS recognized as the huge piranha like fish that Wizeman had created around when he created NiGHTS, named Gulpo. The second was a doubly as frightening mechanical fish with sharp fins and rainbow colored eyes, named Girania. Julie took one look at the two monstrous fish and screamed louder that NiGHTS thought was possible. The jester nightmaren dove and plucked her out of the water, depositing her on one of the still sturdy branches of one of the dead trees. "Stay here!" he ordered before flying back over the water.

"He…can fly!" Julie asked no one in particular as she watched NiGHTS soar through the darkened sky, not noticing as a few scared Nightopians took refuge under the tails of her vest and the rabbit-like ears of her hat. The jester nightmaren flipped forward, leaving his usual trail of twinkle dust, and hovered in the air. The fish both noticed him and showed their razor sharp teeth. NiGHTS smirked a little.

"Long time, no see." Girania jumped from the water and opened its mouth wide, trying to swallow NiGHTS whole, but he caught it by pressing a single gloved hand to his head. Julie's eyes shimmered with admiration at his strength as the fantasy jester drill dashed right through it. Girania exploded in a flash of confetti, his body turning into hundreds of colorful balloons. Gulpo jumped, its large, sharp teeth barred, but NiGHTS flew to the side and the nightmaren fish soared right by and straight into the balloons that Julie had noticed were slowly coming together. Its teeth cut through tons of the balloons as if they were tissue paper, just before the reformed Girania's body, now two sizes too small. Both fish slammed back into the water as several red and orange fish leapt up behind NiGHTS. He dodged them and hit them all back toward the water and the newly surfaced Gulpo with drill dashes. All of them slammed into their larger leader and their own razor sharper teeth cut into its scales. Gulpo splashed back into the water before it, Girania, and one of the red and orange fish leapt back out. NiGHTS moved as a purple blur as he drill dashed right through Girania, turning him into balloons once more, and dove to catch both Gulpo and the other fish. He shot them both toward the balloons and drill dashed into them, finishing all three with a Paraloop. A badly bruised and cut Gulpo and Girania, now no bigger than a goldfish, sunk under the water. The mountains returned to their once beautiful white appearances and the trees stood with renewed life as their leaves returned. All the water disappeared, excluding the small ponds and the river of Pure Valley. The branch that Julie was on apparently had never been very strong because it suddenly snapped. The brunette yelped and closed her eyes but the impact never came. She blinked her emerald orbs open and looked up. The three Nightopians that had hidden under her hat and vest now clung to her collar, slowly floating downward until her green and orange sneakers hit the grass. Julie smiled at them as the rested on the grass.

"Thanks." She gave each a small pat on the head and they all returned her smile. NiGHTS landed next to her, crossing his arms. So this girl wasn't as bizarre as she appeared. Julie turned and saw him, her eyes shimmering with admiration once more. "That was so brave." She cooed dreamily. "I wish I could be that brave." NiGHTS smiled at this.

"So you like me now?" Julie nodded vigorously. "Good. Then let's start over without the attempts to smack me with your wand. Hi! I'm NiGHTS and I'm a Fantasy Jester." He extended a hand and Julie stared at him.

"NiGHTS?" she asked, remembering the chant.

"Yes. May I know your name, Dreamer?" Julie beamed and clapped her own hand into NiGHTS', shaking it so hard that it made his whole arm wobble up and down with it.

"I'm Julie!" 

**Please review! Thank you.**


	4. Sheading Some Light

**Okay first of all, I'd like to say that I am extremely sorry for how long it's taken me to write these chapters. I promise I'll get better as the story goes on. Second, I'd like to say that writing this story has two purposes. I'm writing it for fun and to see what people think. So please reveiw. It's kind of sad to get six reviews on the first chapter, seven on the second, and none on the third. Thank you. On with the story! I hope it was worth the wait.**

**Disclaimer-I don't own NiGHTS, Owl, or any of that related stuff. They all belong to Sega. I only own Julie.**

"Where am-?"

"Pure Valley."

"And where is-?"

"Nightopia."

"Are you going to let me finish any of my-?!"

"Don't count on it." Julie glared up at the smirking, floating jester. Now that she had gotten over the shock of being transported here, where ever here was, and her awe, NiGHTS annoyed her quite a bit. He didn't seem to want to answer any of her questions. It was almost as if he thought she should know everything already. And yet, it seemed as if he was confused about something. "C'mon." NiGHTS floated up and turned forward. He drifted easily through the air, cart wheeling to show off. Julie rolled her eyes and tried to keep up with the speedily flying jester.

NiGHTS twirled around suddenly and stopped, giving his human companion a chance to catch her breath.

'Geez, he's fast!' Julie couldn't help but think. She was going to need to need to find an alternative to running if she hoped to keep up with him.

"Hoo! Why, hello NiGHTS!" The brunette's head snapped up in time to see a plump, brown owl-like creature in a dress coat suddenly appear on a nearby tree branch. The bird gave her a friendly smile. "And hello to you too, Miss. It is always lovely to see a new Visitor!" Julie gave him a confused and shocked look. Flying jesters?! Talking birds appearing out of nowhere?! Where the heck was she?!

"Where the heck am I?!" Julie voiced her thoughts, though somewhat louder than was really needed. The owl's glasses slid down his beak a little as he recoiled and he pushed them back up with the tip of his wing before continuing.

"Oh ho hoo! I'm sorry! This must be terribly confusing for you. But before I explain, I'd like to get introductions out of the way. My name is Owl. May I know yours, Visitor?"

Owl, though he seemed to like to explain every little detail of everything, seemed polite and nice enough. Julie put her hands behind her back and gave him a polite smile in return. "I'm Julie." The bird fluttered down from his perch, landing on a nearby rock. Julie thought it was a miracle he could fly at all but didn't say anything. Instead, she sat down on the grass in front of the rock to be at eyelevel with him. "Can you tell me what's going on? Where am I?"

"It is a pleasure to meet you, Visitor." Owl said with a bow. "You are currently in the World of Dreams, usually referred to as the Night Dimension." Julie's eyes widened a little but then she smiled.

"Ohhhhh! I get it now! I'm dreaming! Geez, maybe mom's right. I do have a weird imagination." The brunette said, making NiGHTS laugh. She shot him a dirty look before turning back to a flustered looking Owl.

"No, no! You misunderstand me! This world is very much real. It's just one people journey to when they are asleep. Those people are referred to as Visitors or Dreamers. They use Ideya, or sparks of light from their heart that show themselves as small multicolored jewels, to enter though the small space between our dimension and yours. Now, the Night Dimension is split into two worlds: Nightopia, which is bright and beautiful, and the dark realm of Nightmare. We are in a section of Nightopia, called Pure Valley. Do you understand?"

Julie's head spun from all the new information but she didn't want to seem stupid. "Um…Sure!" NiGHTS laughed again, placing his elbows on her head and his head in his palms.

"Are you sure she's a Visitor?" The jester asked, looking bored. Julie glared up at him.

"Get off!" She shouted, swinging her staff at him but missing.

"Oh my! It seems you two haven't gotten off to a very good start. You'll have to excuse NiGHTS' cold attitude but I can understand why he is acting this way. You see, most Dreamers come to the Night Dimension in their usual clothes. In that jester outfit, you seem more like a Nightmaren. Hoo." Owl quickly explained, wincing as Julie took another swing at NiGHTS, who dodged and floated higher.

"I do NOT look like a fish!" The jester clad girl snapped. Owl gave her a look of utter confusion and NiGHTS doubled over in the air in laughter. As the jester Nightmaren banged his fist against the tree trunk, gasping "It hurts! It hu-ur-ur-urts!" between laughs, Owl fluttered up to hover in front of Julie.

"Err, I'm sorry, Miss. I think you are a little bit confused. Nightmarens are creatures who invade Nightopia, stealing Ideya and trying to destroy Nightopia." He said, obviously still confused.

"Yeah! Like those two giant fish from before!" Julie snapped, swinging her wand at NiGHTS, only to have him dodge once more and land face first in the grass. Once the brunette had gotten back to her feet, Owl gave her an understanding nod.

"I am guessing the 'two giant fish' you are referring to are Gulpo and Girania. They are both second level aquatic Nightmaren." The bird said knowingly.

"And they heal fast. They'll probably be back soon." NiGHTS added, now that he was finally over his fit of laughter.

"B-back?" Julie squeaked, fidgeting and playing with the yellow hem of her jester vest. Those things, those Nightmarens, weren't just super creepy, they were dangerous! "I-I-I think I'll just find a way to get back home and-"

"Scaredy cat!" NiGHTS laughed, pulling at her jester hat playfully. "Calm down! There's nothing to be afraid of!"

"Ow!" Julie yelped. When he'd grabbed her hat, he also grabbed a fistful of her hair. It was an accident but it hurt all the same. She smacked his hand away, making NiGHTS give a yelp of his own.

"Hey! That hurt!" He cried, rubbing the back of his gloved hand.

"You started it!"

"I think I'll leave you two to you're fun. NiGHTS, please try to be careful with this visitor. She seems a bit more fragile than most." Owl interrupted, quickly teleporting just as Julie's head whipped around.

"Who are you calling fragile?!" The brunette shouted at the tree branch where he'd been, swinging her staff. She heard NiGHTS voice laugh behind her but turned when it cut off suddenly. "What?" The jester didn't answer, looking at her with his head cocked to the side. "What?!"

"I didn't really notice before…but your clothes look familiar. I know I've seen them somewhere before…" He answered finally, floating slowly around Julie to see if something triggered the memory of where he'd seen the outfit before. "…..Oh!! Now I remember!" NiGHTS shouted, snapping his fingers and making Julie jump in surprise. "I was flying over Aqua Gardens and I found a little scrap of paper. It had a drawing on that looked exactly like that." He gestured down at her clothes, nodding as the memory came back. Julie blinked in surprise.

"My drawing came here?" She asked in shock, her green eyes widening. "I thought my teacher threw it away!"

"_You _drew that?!" The jester Nightmaren asked, equally as shocked. Dreamers could travel back and forth between the Night Dimension and the Waking World, but he'd never heard of an item traveling through the barrier that separated their worlds. He had thought that maybe some Dreamer had left it on accident.

"Yeah…Well, sort of. It was more of a doodle. I wasn't actually trying to draw it….It only got me in trouble anyway." Julie mumbled, rubbing her arm and looking as if she was trying to comfort herself. It didn't take a genius to piece two and two together. She'd had a bad day. That sad, listless voice that had asked NiGHTS in his thoughts what it was like to fly had been Julie. He beamed and leaned forward, holding a hand out to her.

"How'd you like to try your hand at flying, Julie?" Julie stared at his hand and then up into his bright blue, cat-pupiled orbs.

"How?" was all she could manage to say.

"Dualize." NiGHTS answered with a wink.

"What's that?"

"It's kind of hard to explain…See, our two bodies kind of join into one. It's less weird than it sounds." The last part had been added because of the freaked out look Julie had given him. The brunette now stood rooted to the spot, staring at his hand. She had wondered what it was like to fly. "C'mon. Trust me. I promise nothing bad will happen." NiGHTS reassured her. Julie smiled a little and slowly started to reach out. She put her shivering green gloved hand into his white gloved one and waited….and waited…and waited. After what seemed like an eternity, Julie finally spoke.

"…Nothing's happening." NiGHTS retracted his hand as if he had been shocked. He examined it, slowly turning his invisible wrist this way and that, but nothing seemed out of the ordinary.

'_Maybe it's because of Julie.' _He thought but instantly wished he hadn't when he looked up at the preteen girl. She had apparently been thinking it was her fault again too. Her gaze was set down on her green and orange shoes, a look of heartbreak and sadness in her eyes. NiGHTS hated that lost, hopeless look. He'd only seen it a few times but every time it nearly broke the heart Wizeman hadn't meant to give him. He'd have to make it up to her. Maybe something had happened with her Ideya when she traveled to Nightopia? Whatever the reason, NiGHTS leaned forward once more, holding out his hand. "Well, do you want to fly or not?" He asked in an impatient voice. Julie looked up in surprise.

"But…we can't Dualize." She said in a quiet voice that was laced with surprise and confusion.

"And?" the Nightmaren asked, a playful grin curving his mouth. Julie's curiosity once again won out over her fear and she took his hand once more.


	5. Deep Water

**I know I promised to update faster and I haven't been. Highschool's not exactly easy when you first start out. Since it's winter break, I'm hoping to get two more chapters in between now and next week but I can't really say for sure. And now, the return of review replies! X3 Thank you to everyone who commented last time.**

**silver wolf-I'm trying to. ^^ Glad to know you like it. X3**

**Starbright91-Yup. ^^ I'll try to update faster from now on. Thanks!**

**Jazzy Kat-Yes, she is a little bit sad and freaked out. :( She's a lot happier in this chapter. ^^**

** ChibiRyou200-Thanks so much! X3 I hope you enjoy the next chapter!**

**Thank you again you guys! X3 **

**Disclaimer-I don't own NiGHTS, Owl, Gulpo or anything like that. They belong to Sega. I only own Julie.**

"WHOO-HOO!" Julie laughed, waving one arm in the air as they soared through the air. NiGHTS chuckled softly, speeding up and diving low to skim a river. He wasn't able to Dualize with Julie. That was obvious even if the reason wasn't. However, there was nothing that could be said against having her hold on as he flew. Julie currently had her arms wrapped around his shoulders, afraid that if she tried to cling to his neck that her arms would pass right through and her legs curled around his middle. She gave another loud shriek of laughter as her Nightmaren companion twirled back into the air as if it were water.

NiGHTS huffed softly as he waved his arms, keeping them afloat with a steady stream of Twinkle Dust. He'd never really noticed how heavy humans were. Nightmarens were strong but light weight, made in dreams. He'd get used to it eventually and she'd seem light. He was an adaptable Jester. "Having fun?" He laughed as Julie again giggled loudly into his invisible ear.

"Absolutely! God, I wished I could have had a dream sooner! This is my first one, you know!" NiGHTS stopped suddenly, making the brunette jerk forward. She gasped in shock, clinging to him. "What?"

"You've NEVER had a dream?" NiGHTS asked in shock.

"No. Never. Is that a problem?"

"No…It's just that…Well, you're twelve. Most Dreamers have they're first dream by the time they turn two. It's simple of course and they don't really enter into Nightopia but it's a dream…" NiGHTS was no longer propelling them through the sky of Pure Valley and so they were slowly starting to float to the ground. He hovered an inch above the grass and Julie took this as a sign that it was time to end the ride. She let go and dropped to the ground, sighing a little bit.

"Thanks for the ride…" She mumbled, thinking he was mad at her. The Jester Nightmaren surprised Julie by turning and grinning at her.

"Anytime. I love to fly." NiGHTS laughed, spinning around Julie and making her dizzy.

"I can see that. You never touch the ground!" Julie giggled back, trying not to stumble. NiGHTS shrugged, grinning as he flipped backward the lay in the air. He was about to reply when a suddenly rumble made him turn.

"Darn it! I didn't think they would be back so soon…" He muttered, hovering higher in the air to see if the calm Nightopia was changing.

"Nightmaren?" Julie questioned in worry.

"Yeah. The fish are back." NiGHTS floated over, holding one hand out to the fearful brunette. "C'mon. I'll get you somewhere safe before they manage to change this place into a nightmare again." Julie clung to her Nightmaren escort and he shot up into the sky, almost making her hat fall off.

Every time a dream in Nightopia turned into a Nightmare, it was slightly different, even if it was caused by the same Nightmaren. The trees might work for a refuge again…but if they became too weak to hold Julie they would snap and send her into the water, a dangerous place to be.

Another tremor went through the ground, shaking it. The grass and earth started to turn blue and gelatinous, slowly transforming into water as the trees started to wither and die before their eyes. Nightopians shrieked in fear and hovered around as quickly as their little wings would carry them, looking for a hiding spot.

NiGHTS again searched for a hiding spot. The mountains wouldn't work. If they melted into the water, Julie would fall with it. There was a loud splash and the Jester turned his eyes to the ground just in time to see a bright red and orange piranha-like fish slam its tail into him. NiGHTS spiraled head over heels into the air as Julie dropped like a stone toward the water.

"NiGHTS! Help!" Julie screamed. The Jester managed to catch himself and dove, reaching one hand out in front of him. Girania leapt out of the water suddenly and Julie curled into a ball, whimpering in fear. NiGHTS stared in horror as the mechanical fish swallowed her whole. He stopped, staring at the fish as it disappeared. If Dreamers were killed here, their bodies went into a coma…for the rest of their lives.

"Julie!" NiGHTS called as he suddenly dove into the water. No. He couldn't let that happen. Not to a Dreamer under his care. He closed his eyes and dove into the water with a loud splash. The Jester Nightmaren stopped and opened his sapphire eyes. Gulpo was swimming right toward him, dagger teeth exposed to pierce his fellow Nightmaren. NiGHTS shot downward, missing the teeth by an inch. He flipped forward and placed his feet against one of the orange and red fishes head, pushing off with a giant force to spin into a drill dash. He slammed into Gulpo, sending the giant fish flying.

The smaller, orange and red fish started to dart back and forth, trying to find a way around NiGHTS so that it could pull off a surprise attack. He dove around it suddenly and had grabbed the fish's tail before it could register what had happened. The Jester started to spin, slowly at first but speeding up until they were a blur in the water. The spinning turned into a whirlpool and drew in the other lower ranking Nightmaren fish, swirling them around. NiGHTS released the fish and it went flying into a dazed Gulpo, knocking it back even further. He flipped backward, having flown out of the whirlpool when he let go of the fish, and spiraled forward.

Girania, apparently not having his fill, swam toward him with surprising speed. NiGHTS dove to the side, spinning past the mechanical fish sideways. He twirled back up out of the water and, as expected, Girania followed. It leapt out of the water, mouth opened wide. NiGHTS dove down but just when he was about to enter the black as night mouth of the Nightmaren, it slammed shut. Girania seemed to be frozen, suspended in the air. Its eyes turned from rainbow, to white. They flashed to yellow, then green, then blue and finally red before darkening to grey. Yellow, crescent moon shapes appeared just above its lower metal eyelids, lighting up the gloomy orbs.

NiGHTS stared at the mark, feeling a strange feeling pulling him toward Girania. The crystal on his chest burned and warmth flowed from it, making his arms and legs numb. He reached out, resting out gloved palm on the Nightmaren's eye. A yellow star lit up the grey even more, resting on the bottom curve of the Crescent moon. Girania exploded into a thousand balloons and NiGHTS shook his head, snapping out of his trance as if the pop was a hypnotist's snap. He glanced down and saw something green and orange drop toward the water again, this time without a sound or a struggle.

"Julie!" The Jester Nightmaren cried, diving after the brunette. This time, he managed to catch up to her and caught her bridal style, zooming up into the air as he just narrowly avoided the jaws of another piranha-like fish. As he had thought, the young girl had passed out, her head resting against NiGHTS' shoulder. He watched as the fish leapt in vain. They had no hope of reaching the two. NiGHTS was too high. As he looked down at the Nightmaren fish, wondering how he was going to defeat them without leaving Julie, the balloons that normally made up Girania slowly floated downward. Had he not have had so much on his mind, he would have found it odd that the balloons hadn't formed back into their fish form yet.

NiGHTS leaned forward anxiously, watching as the newly formed ocean started to churn. "Not good." All the red and orange fish leapt as one, surrounding their leader, Gulpo as they attacked. NiGHTS jerked back in surprise and turned to fly away. It was an unnecessary move. There was one thing that all the Nightmaren hadn't given a second thought. The balloons. The fish slammed into them without a second thought, teeth barred and spiked fins jutting out. The balloons nearly exploded, making NiGHTS jerk upward even farther in shock. He watched as the fish, now barbequed and charred black, fell back into the water, making colossal splashes.

NiGHTS again leaned forward, staring as the fish disappeared under the water. The water disappeared once more, leaving only the river of Pure Valley, and the grass, trees, mountains, and fields of the dream returned along with the bright noonday sun. NiGHTS had known a lot of Nightmarens and had fought against all of them. They had thrown explosives but never had they themselves ever exploded. It would have made his job a lot easier but they didn't. The Nightmaren's mind returned to the strange moon symbol that had come to Girania's eyes and the star that had been added when he'd touched them. He turned his azure eyes down to the young brunette girl that was currently unconscious in his arms.

NiGHTS didn't think it was possible for people to pass out in the Night Dimension. It was all a dream after all. Did Dreamers wake up if they fell asleep in Nightopia? No…Dreamers disappeared when they woke up. Julie was just as solid as ever.

"Ooh, whoo! NiGHTS!" The Jester turned his eyes up, watching as a familiar ball of brown feathers and suit coat floated up to him. "NiGHTS! I saw what happened from the forest! What happened to the Nightmaren?! Is the Visitor okay?! Whooooo, Whooo!" NiGHTS looked at the old bird but said nothing. Owl fluttered his wings in annoyance, wondering why the younger Nightmaren didn't seem to be listening. "NiGHTS!!!"

"What?" NiGHTS asked, blinking. "Uh, yeah! Sorry. I think she's alright. She seems like she's asleep though…Is that possible for Dreamers?"

"Of course. If their heart is put under enough stress, they will faint as they would in the Waking World. Why? What happened to the Nightmaren? I saw Julie drop and Girania…"

"Yeah…There was this weird symbol…" NiGHTS mumbled and Owl leaned forward.

"Hmm? A symbol?"

"Yeah, Girania just kind of froze up…And then there was this moon symbol in its eyes. I'm sure it was nothing I can't deal with!" The Jester Nightmaren smiled, returning to his normal carefree attitude.

"Hmm…Oh, whooo. Perhaps…an Ideya? No…No symbol like that could come from Girania having one single Ideya…" Owl contemplated. "I suppose now isn't the time to dwell on it. The dream appears to be returning to normal but it seems that the Visitor isn't going to be waking up anytime soon…" Julie gave a small groan and Owl ruffled his feathers nervously. "I stand corrected."

NiGHTS dropped to hover a few inches above the grass and set the brunette down on the ground. He searched around and picked up a stick, poking Julie in the temple. "Think she's dead?" He joked.

"NiGHTS!" Owl hooted. He was well aware that the younger resident of Nightopia was only kidding around but he could go a joke too far. NiGHTS grinned and threw the stick away, bending over the girl to pry open one of her emerald eyes. They looked normal so he let the lid fall. Julie groaned softly and opened her eyes, staring right into a familiar sparkling pair of blue, cat pupil-ed eyes.

"Ah! You!" The brunette shouted, jolting upward into a sitting position.

"Well, good morning to you too, Sunshine!" NiGHTS laughed grinning at her. "Glad to see you're okay."

"…I'm alive?" Julie asked, looking down at herself. "I thought that fish-. "

"Girania." NiGHTS provided.

"Right. I thought Girania ate me." The brunette sighed, wishing she knew how this place worked. A white gloved hand without a wrist was suddenly held out in front of her face, the Nightmaren it was attached to smiling.

"Right. It's kind of hard to explain. I think I might have over reacted a bit. Girania usually spits out everything it puts into its mouth. It's just that I'm used to being able to Dualize with Dreamers." NiGHTS smirked and spiraled upward so that Julie had to look up at him. "I'm not entirely used to having a brunette girl in a jester outfit scream at Nightopians, try to whack me with a staff, and then scream-laugh in my ear when I fly."

"Shut up!" Julie laughed, throwing her staff at him and just barely missing his jester hat 'ears'. "I was freaked out! How would you act if you literally fell into a new world?"

"I'd explore. I happen to like new places. I'M not a scaredy cat!" NiGHTS laughed and did a backwards loop, just missing one of Julie's green and yellow shoes.

"Shut up, NiGHTS!" She repeated, trying not to laugh at his carefree attitude towards EVERYTHING. The Jester could tell and smirked. He hooked his fingers into the sides of his mouth and pulled them out, sticking his tongue out and blowing a silent raspberry. Julie clasped a hand over her mouth, a slight red tint coming to her cheeks. NiGHTS inwardly smirked, as his mouth was somewhat occupied at the moment, and rolled his eyes back.

Julie burst out laughing, falling backward into the grass and kicking her legs desperately. "Stop, stop, stop!!!" She gasped in-between laughs, holding her stomach. "Y-you should s-s-see your face!!!"

"See? Being happy is fun!" was what NiGHTS' sarcastic answer could be translated to. He took his fingers out of his mouth, grinning as he sat back in the air. Julie's laughter slowly drew to a close and she wiped a tear from her eyes.

"Don't do that!"

"Oh, I see!" NiGHTS purred, smirking. "You've got a little gap in that boring armor of yours for flying and funny faces huh?"

"N-no!" Julie snapped, only to burst out laughing again when the Nightmaren made a fish face. "O-okay! I do! Just stop with the faces! It hu-ur-ur-urts!!"

"Ha! I knew it!" NiGHTS laughed. He hovered down and placed his hands on his knees. He was now eyelevel with Julie. "You're kind of gloomy and a little bit…strange…for a Dreamer…but you're okay." The Fantasy Jester straightened and placed his hands on his hips, smiling with an interested light in his eyes. "And I'm not sure how, but you lost all your Ideya. That was pretty clumsy."

"Hey!" Julie cried, throwing her other shoe. NiGHTS dodged and gave her a playful grin.

"Well, I didn't say I wasn't going to help you get them back! C'mon!" He dove down and grabbed her arm, tugging the brunette off toward the forest. Julie just had enough time to grab her shoes and wand before she was dragged off. Owl desperately flapped after them. How could they forget about what had happened so easily?!

"NiGHTS! Miss! Wait! NiGHTS! What was it that you said about that symbol on Girania!? NiGHTS!!!!"

**Hope you enjoyed the 5th chapter. ^^ Review! Please and thank you. X3**


End file.
